Hewitt - Never carry out any arithmetic - CERME11.docx.pdf (625.8 kB)
“Never carry out any arithmetic”: the importance of structure in developing algebraic thinking
conference contribution
posted on 2020-01-27, 09:27 authored by Dave HewittThe use of tasks which ask learners to find general rules for growing figural patterns is
widely reported in the algebra research literature. Such tasks are sometimes seen as a way to
develop early algebra thinking. This paper looks at examples of such activities from the
literature and presents a theoretical argument against the common practice of learners
creating a table of values and seeking patterns within the numbers. Instead an argument is
made for learners to focus on more complex examples where learners are discouraged from
counting and turning the original figures into numbers. Instead, it is suggested that learners
seek structure within complex examples and express what they see without carrying out any
arithmetic but instead just writing down what arithmetic they would do.
History
School
- Science
Department
- Mathematics Education Centre
Pages
558 - 565Source
Eleventh Congress of the European Society for Research in Mathematics EducationPublisher
Freudenthal Group & Freudenthal Institute, Utrecht University and ERMEVersion
- VoR (Version of Record)
Rights holder
© the AuthorsAcceptance date
2019-04-11Publication date
2019-12-18ISBN
9789073346758Language
- en
Editor(s)
UT Jankvist; M Van den Heuvel-Panhuizen, M.; M VeldhuisLocation
Utrecht, the NetherlandsEvent dates
5th February 2019 - 10th February 2019Depositor
Dr Dave Hewitt Deposit date: 24 January 2020Usage metrics
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